I think it's ironic that we spend the entirety of our childhood being told not to talk to strangers, then when we're grown up our jobs require us to interact easily with a wide variety of people we don't know and have never met.

Googly moogly,  I hate talking on the phone.

Sometimes taking a step forward feels like the most horrible backward step I can ever imagine taking.

I try to hold onto the thought that things will be better in the long run, and that I won't always feel like I have ripped out my own heart to crush it into a bloody pulp and am a total and complete failure at life.

I had a very odd moment this morning, after watching episodes of MI-5 and Doctor Who on Netflix and then going to the grocery store.  I wondered why everyone was speaking with an accent.  Then I realized that no, I am in fact in the United States, and people here are supposed to sound like that.

People in La Grande, Oregon, USA do not speak like people in London, UK. Or aliens in the far reaches of the galaxy heard through the TARDIS translator that is linked to someone with what sounds like a northern British accent but isn't because lots of planets have a "north".  (It's complicated.)

It's entirely possible that I've been watching too many BBC shows on Netflix.

I had a fun time at Crafty Night last night, a bright spot in an otherwise icky week.

See what I made!



Needle felting is fun!

Emma's been dropping hints recently about things she wants for Christmas.  Normal stuff like the new Tinkerbell movie, a horse, any and all Pokemon cards, a kitten, beads, or Wii games. I've told her a couple times to write it down, and that Santa and I would see what we could do.

This morning she was rattling off her list again, and the first thing she said?

"A happy family together on Christmas."

That sound was my heart. Breaking.

Last month, Emma got her ears pierced. She is currently as tall as my chin. She wears a size 5 shoe.  She gets confused and upset when the boys at school act like 9- and 10-year-old boys.

My girl is growing up. I can tell puberty is coming- it's not here yet, but I have a feeling it's lurking just beyond the horizon. I need a pause button so I can stop and catch my breath.

I remember adolescence, and I'm not sure I'm ready to weather that storm again, even from the other side.

Note to self:  Two cups of tea before 10:00 am does not make up for four hours of sleep and no breakfast.  I'm off to find some food before I jitter right off my chair.

On a completely unrelated topic, YAY for the democratic process!